Restaurant Brands Ltd's shares rose 7c to $2.37 after chairman Ted van Arkel told shareholders the company is on target to deliver a net profit after tax of between $24 million and $26 million this financial year.That is up from the $20m the company predi
Restaurant Brands Ltd's shares rose 7c to $2.37 after chairman Ted van Arkel told shareholders the company is on target to deliver a net profit after tax of between $24 million and $26 million this financial year.
That is up from the $20m the company predicted when it reported a 70 percent increase in annual profit in April.
The fast food franchise operator earlier reported a 4.2 percent increase in total sales across its three brands for its first quarter. Same store sales increased 6.3 percent.
"As can be seen by our first quarter sales release, the new financial year has started well for the company," Mr van Arkel said.
The New Zealand economy was starting to gain some traction after the international financial crises, but other storm clouds had not fully dissipated and there were macro-economic influences such as the forthcoming goods and services tax increase.
"These factors notwithstanding, Restaurant Brands is on target to deliver a net profit after tax, excluding non-trading items, in the range of $24m to $26m in the current financial year," he said.
The company's share price has not been at current levels since 1997.
Mr van Arkel said that while he did not generally make a habit of commenting on the share price, he noted it was the best performer on the NZX50, gaining more than 120 percent, in the last 12 months.
"Those who bought the stock 12 months ago at about $1 a share, or even earlier at the 65c mark have enjoyed a substantial gain to current levels," he said.
Those investors who bought the stock at the time of the float of the company in 1997 will be painfully aware of their entry price of $2.20 a share, which was effectively diluted to $2.03 in a share with the bonus issue in 2000.
"It is worth noting that even those early investors now have effectively recovered their investment and have also received a reasonable dividend stream every year throughout the time they have held their investment," he said.
Four directors were re-elected at the meeting.
As at February 2010, Restaurant Brands has 218 stores: 86 KFC, 91 Pizza Hut and 41 Starbucks stores. It employs over 4500 staff and every day serves over 60,000 customers throughout New Zealand.
